A different Work Sharp question

[arskrg]

I've been using an older model Work Sharp for the last month or so, and I love it!
I have a question about the angles, though.
If I'm using the 20 degree guide and holding the knife against the guide, wouldn't the angle be affected by the grind of the knife?
Say the knife is ground to 30 or 35 degrees (or whatever) above the edge bevel, if I'm holding that upper bevel against the guide rather than holding the knife at 90 degrees like on a Sharpmaker, I can't actually be achieving a 20 degree edge bevel, right?

Forgive my naiveté. I'm really a novice to sharpening, if that's not already evident...

 

[bgentry]

You get a gold star. You are correct. When using any kind of guide that rests against the "body" of the blade, the true sharpening angle is the guide angle, plus 1/2 of the total angle of the body of the blade.

Typical blades are ground at 4 to 8 degrees inclusive, though really thick blades might be more obtuse. So count on adding 2 to 4 degrees to any guide that touches the body of the blade.

Brian.

 

[arskrg]

Another thought came to mind: I wonder if they took this into account when designing the guides and allowed for these few degrees...?

 

[bgentry]

I would think not, but it's hard to say. You can measure it and see. Protractor for a direct reading, or measure the arms of the triangle and do the trig to find the angle. I don't think it matters much either way, but it might be fun to find out.

Brian.